Misplaced Pages

#440559

28-528: In 1998, Klaus Schwab and his wife Hilde decided to create the independent not-for-profit Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. Its mission was to promote social innovation. This new foundation was complementary to the World Economic Forum , founded by Klaus Schwab in 1971. Pamela Hartigan , who joined in October 2000, was its first managing director. The Foundation is financed from

56-587: A brief trial period, after telling Schwab she was pregnant. Schwab grew upset that she would not be able to continue working at the same pace, people familiar with the incident said, and told her she was not suited for her new leadership role. A fourth allegation was that Schwab ordered the firing of all individuals over 50 years of age at the WEF, which then HR-chief Paolo Gallo refused to do. After this, Schwab allegedly fired Gallo. The article then went on to discuss alleged misconduct by other high-ranking WEF officials, which

84-598: A business problem in mechanical engineering). He also earned a doctorate in economics from the University of Fribourg , and a Master in Public Administration degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University . While attending Harvard, Schwab found a mentor in future National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger . Schwab was professor of business policy at

112-411: A position on the issues, instead offering only vague policy recommendations. The Financial Times ' innovation editor found "the clunking lifelessness of the prose" led him to "suspect this book really was written by humans—ones who inhabit a strange twilight world of stakeholders, externalities, inflection points and 'developtory sandboxes'." The political scientist Klaus-Gerd Giesen argued that

140-673: Is a German mechanical engineer , economist , and founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF). He has acted as the WEF's chairman since founding the organisation in 1971. In May 2024, WEF announced that Schwab will move from his role as Executive Chairman to chairman of the Board of Trustees by January 2025. No successor has been named. Klaus Martin Schwab was born on 30 March 1938, to Eugen Wilhelm Schwab and Erika Epprecht in Ravensburg . His parents had moved from Switzerland to Germany during

168-422: Is accused by former WEF employees of having engaged in two instances of sexual harassment. Furthermore, a former employee alleges that she was "pushed out" from her role as leader of an initiative for startups, following a brief trial period, after telling Schwab she was pregnant. Schwab grew upset that she would not be able to continue working at the same pace, people familiar with the incident said, and told her she

196-479: Is deeply disappointing that the WSJ made provably false allegations" and that there existed a zero-tolerance policy for this sort of misconduct. In the aftermath of these revelations, some commentators pondered the future of the WEF. As of September 2024, the organization's Board of Directors consisted of: Klaus Schwab Klaus Martin Schwab ( German: [klaʊs ˈmaʁtiːn ʃvaːp] ; born 30 March 1938)

224-846: The National University of Singapore and Kaunas University of Technology in Lithuania. Schwab married Hilde Schwab, his former assistant, in 1971. The wedding took place in Sertig Valley at a Reformed church. The couple live in Cologny in Switzerland. The Schwabs have two adult children, Nicole (born 1975/1976) and Olivier. Nicole Schwab co-founded the Gender Equality Project. Kurt Furgler Kurt Furgler (24 June 1924 – 23 July 2008)

252-574: The Third Reich in order for his father to assume the role of director at Escher Wyss AG , an industrial company and contractor for the Nazi regime. Although his father was baptized Lutheran, Schwab was raised Catholic . Although having three Swiss grandparents and two Swiss brothers, he is a citizen of Germany and has declined multiple offers for naturalization, from both Kurt Furgler and Ueli Maurer . Schwab attended first and second grades at

280-658: The University of Geneva from 1972 to 2003, and since then has been an honorary professor there. Schwab and his wife Hilde created the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship in 1998. In 1971, Schwab founded the European Management Forum, which was renamed as the World Economic Forum in 1987. Also in 1971, he published Moderne Unternehmensführung im Maschinenbau . In 2003 Schwab appointed José María Figueres CEO of

308-764: The primary school in the Wädenswil district of Au, Zürich , in Switzerland. After World War II , his family moved back to Germany where Schwab attended the Spohn-Gymnasium in Ravensburg until his Abitur in 1957. In 1961, he graduated as a mechanical engineer from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, with a doctorate in engineering, with a dissertation titled Der längerfristige Exportkredit als betriebswirtschaftliches Problem des Maschinenbaues (Longer-term export credit as

SECTION 10

#1732765765441

336-683: The European integration of Switzerland, and in 1982, signed the Luxembourg Declaration, which called for a closer cooperation between the European Union and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Dr. Furgler demanded a strong central government but failed to establish a Swiss federal police due to strong opposition from the left and confederated forces of the right. In September 1982, he

364-723: The Forum's Global Agenda Councils. Case studies on specific social entrepreneurs are provided to leading academic institutions to incorporate into undergraduate and graduate-level courses. Each year the Foundation selects 20-25 Social Entrepreneurs through a global “Social Entrepreneur of the Year” competition. Winners include Mikaela Jade , for innovation in indigenous edu-tech. On June 29, 2024, The Wall Street Journal published an article, authored by staff reporters Shalini Ramachandran and Khadeeja Safdar, stating that WEF Founder Klaus Schwab

392-620: The WEF awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to USWeb in 1998. Yet shortly after the deal went through, Schwab took a board seat at the same company, reaping valuable stock options. In June 2021, Schwab sharply criticised the "profiteering", "complacency" and "lack of commitment" of the municipality of Davos in relation to the WEF annual meeting. He mentioned that the preparation of the COVID-related meeting in Singapore in 2021/2022 had created an alternative to its Swiss host and sees

420-741: The WEF was formally recognised by the Swiss Government as an "international body". Schwab has authored or co-authored several books. Some consider him to be "an evangelist" for "stakeholder capitalism". The Fourth Industrial Revolution , the subject of a 2016 book he wrote, is an idea he is credited with popularising. In January 2017, Steven Poole in The Guardian criticised Schwab's Fourth Industrial Revolution book, pointing out that "the internet of things" would probably be hackable. He also criticised Schwab for showing that future technologies may be used for good or evil, but not taking

448-609: The WEF, as his successor. In October 2004, Figueres resigned over his undeclared receipt of more than US$ 900,000 in consultancy fees from the French telecommunications firm Alcatel while he was working at the Forum. In 2006, Transparency International highlighted this incident in their Global Corruption Report . Schwab founded the Global Shapers Community in 2011 within the WEF to work with young people in "shaping local, regional and global agendas." In 2015,

476-916: The WEF. Among other awards, Schwab has been conferred with the French Legion of Honour (knight distinction), the Grand Cross with Star of the National Order of Germany , and the Japanese Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun . He also was awarded the Dan David Prize , and was recognized by Queen Elizabeth as an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George . Schwab has also received honorary degrees from various universities, including

504-451: The WSJ article was reported on, separately and respectively, in Swiss daily newspapers Tages-Anzeiger and Neue Zürcher Zeitung , where WEF further commented that "it is deeply disappointing that the WSJ made provably false allegations" and that there existed a zero-tolerance policy for this sort of misconduct. In the aftermath of these revelations, some commentators pondered the future of

532-520: The chance that the annual meeting will stay in Davos at between 40 and 70 per cent. On June 29, 2024, The Wall Street Journal published an article, authored by staff reporters Shalini Ramachandran and Khadeeja Safdar, stating that Schwab is accused by former WEF employees of having engaged in two instances of sexual harassment. Furthermore, a former employee alleges that she was "pushed out" from her role as leader of an initiative for startups, following

560-463: The context of ongoing public contributions to the WEF and the fact that the Forum does not pay any federal taxes. Moreover, the former Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung journalist Jürgen Dunsch made the criticism that the WEF's financial reports were not very transparent since neither income nor expenditures were broken down. Schwab has also drawn ire for mixing the finances of the not-for-profit WEF and other for-profit business ventures. For example,

588-484: The dominant ideology of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is transhumanism . While Schwab declared that excessively high management salaries were "no longer socially acceptable", his own annual salary of about one million Swiss francs (a little more than US$ 1 million) has been repeatedly questioned by the media. The Swiss radio and television corporation SRF mentioned this salary level in

SECTION 20

#1732765765441

616-626: The initial endowment provided by the Schwabs plus grants and fees for services provided to individuals, foundations or companies. The Foundation identifies rising social entrepreneurs under the age of 40 through its Forum of Young Global Leaders and encourages the activists it recognizes to work together as a team. In this collaboration, ideas are shared and possible funding is attracted from companies, universities, or INSEAD . The activists can also win support from corporations and political and academic leaders. The activists (260 people in 2013) serve on

644-493: The specific allegations against Schwab, which the authors had gathered before publishing the article, as: "Schwab has never made sexual advances toward an employee and the women's allegations were vague and false" and that “Mr. Schwab does not and has never engaged in the vulgar behaviors you describe”. Three days later, the WSJ article was reported on, separately and respectively, in Swiss daily newspapers Tages-Anzeiger and Neue Zürcher Zeitung , where WEF further commented that "it

672-709: Was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1972–1986). He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 8 December 1971 and handed over office on 31 December 1986. He was affiliated to the Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland . During his office time he held the following departments: He was President of the Confederation three times in 1977, 1981 and 1985. Kurt Furgler

700-562: Was born and raised in St. Gallen , Switzerland. He studied Jurisprudence in Fribourg , Zürich , and Geneva , and was an avid handball player during his youth. In 1948, he obtained his license to practice law in St. Gallen . As a conservative centrist in the Federal Council of Switzerland , he advocated equal rights for women , and initiated economic reforms and modernized immigration and Swiss family law. During his presidency, he argued for

728-405: Was not directly related to Schwab. The WSJ article quoted the WEF's response to the specific allegations against Schwab, which the authors had gathered before publishing the article, as: "Schwab has never made sexual advances toward an employee and the women's allegations were vague and false" and that “Mr. Schwab does not and has never engaged in the vulgar behaviors you describe”. Three days later,

756-418: Was not suited for her new leadership role. A fourth allegation was that Schwab ordered the firing of all individuals over 50 years of age at the WEF, which then HR-chief Paolo Gallo refused to do. After this, Schwab allegedly fired Gallo. The article then went on to discuss alleged misconduct by other high-ranking WEF officials, which was not directly related to Schwab. The WSJ article quoted the WEF's response to

784-640: Was the head of the special task force for the hostage situation in the Polish embassy in Bern . Controversially, he approved the clandestine copying of Polish diplomatic documents. In November 1985, he asserted his significant representative role in international relations when he welcomed the American president Ronald Reagan , with first lady Nancy Reagan and General Secretary of the Communist Party of

#440559